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Reds manager Dusty Baker, right, and catcher Ramon Hernandez walk off the field at Great American Ball Park for the final time this season after a 2-0 win. / DAVID KOHL/AP

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CINCINNATI (AP)—Cliff Lee(notes) wanted one more out. Instead, the dominating
left-hander had to settle for the biggest share of another shutout, one that
swept the Philadelphia Phillies to new heights.

Lee got his sixth straight win on Wednesday night, coming up one out short
of another complete game, and Hunter Pence(notes) homered for the second straight game,
setting up a 3-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds that gave the NL East leaders
another big number.

They are 40 games over .500 for the first time this season, holding the
majors’ best record at 86-46. And there’s no wonder why. The Phillies lead the
majors with 19 shutouts.

“I didn’t know we have 19 shutouts,” Lee said. “I know we’ve got good
pitching and any day we’re capable of going out and shutting down another
offense.”

They have blanked the Reds the last two games and allowed a total of two
runs and 16 hits while taking the first three games of the series. It’s even
more impressive considering the Phillies had two unexpected days off over the
weekend because of Hurricane Irene, throwing the pitchers’ routines out of
whack.

“The starters—it’s unbelievable,” said closer Ryan Madson(notes), who got the
final out. “It just doesn’t seem like anything fazes them. They can do
anything. And it gives the whole team confidence when they’re out there.”

Cincinnati entered the series on a hot streak, winning four straight. The
Reds ran into an old problem—they can’t do anything against the Phillies’
pitching.

The Phillies swept them in the playoffs last season, with Roy Halladay(notes)
throwing a no-hitter. Philadelphia is 20-6 against Cincinnati lately, including
6-1 this season.

Lee (15-7) gave up only five hits through the first eight innings, then
retired the first two batters in the ninth. He gave up Joey Votto’s(notes) double,
walked Jay Bruce(notes) and hit Miguel Cairo(notes) with his 117th pitch, prompting manager
Charlie Manuel to let Madson finish it off.

Lee tried to talk Manuel out of making the pitching change.

“He asked me,” Manuel said. “I said I want Madson. He said, ‘You’re
sure?’ I said, ‘Damn sure.”’

Madson retired pinch-hitter Yonder Alonso(notes) on a foul pop for his 25th save in
27 chances. Lee wished he’d gotten the chance to get that last, elusive out.

“It’s not very often you go 8 2-3 and not give up a run and somehow not
feel good about it when it’s over,” Lee said. “It worked out. Madson came in
and got the guy out. It’s hard to question the move.”

Every time Lee takes the mound these days, it works.

Lee, who celebrated his 33rd birthday on Tuesday, hasn’t lost since July 25.
The left-hander has given up only six earned runs in his last six starts. He’s
been especially tough on the road, where he hasn’t allowed a run in his last 30
2-3 innings since July 19.

He went 5-0 in June and did an encore by going 5-0 in August.

“I hope I have a good September and October, too,” Lee said.

Philadelphia scored in the first inning when the Reds failed to turn a
double play with two runners aboard. Pence led off the sixth with his 18th homer
off left-hander Dontrelle Willis(notes) (0-4), extending his hitting streak to seven
games. Philadelphia scored another run on a forceout in the seventh.

No matter how well he pitches or hits, Willis can’t get a win. He gets the
lowest run support among Reds starters, and the bullpen has blown save chances
in three of his starts.

“Guys on the other side of the diamond are pitching well,” Willis said.
“So I’m not frustrated. I like being in those type of games anyway.”

Earlier Wednesday, the Phillies made a move to strengthen their bench,
acquiring outfielder John Bowker(notes) from Pittsburgh. Bowker spent most of the
season in the minors, batting .306 with 15 homers.

Bowker bats left-handed and can play left field, right field and first base.
He drove over from Triple-A Indianapolis to join the team for the game.

Notes: Lee was loudly booed in the fourth, when he grounded to second
baseman Brandon Phillips(notes), took a couple steps toward first, waved his right hand
and headed back to the dugout. … Reds SS Paul Janish(notes) extended his career-worst
slump to 0 for 26. … The Phillies have won all seven of their four-game series
this season. They have never had a four-game sweep in Cincinnati. … The
Phillies will start RHP Vance Worley(notes) in the final game on Thursday afternoon.
Worley had a no-decision in his May 24 start against the Reds, giving up three
runs in five innings. The Reds will go with RHP Mike Leake(notes), who has given up 11
runs in 14 1-3 innings of his two starts against Philadelphia. … The Reds plan
to call up seven players from the minors on Thursday, including C Devin
Mesoraco(notes), their top draft pick in 2007. It will be his major league debut.

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame’s first two losses didn’t look good.

The Fighting Irish lost close games to ranked teams, but the way they happened really bothered coach Muffet McGraw. Notre Dame surrendered 86 points in a double overtime game against UCLA and 81 against Kentucky.

“We gave up a lot of points,” she said. “That was our main problem.”

There were offensive issues, too, on a team that lost four starters from the previous year’s Sweet 16 squad.

“We hadn’t quite jelled yet,” McGraw said. “We weren’t quite sure of what our roles were. We were still learning.”

The Fighting Irish had one more rough outing — a loss to Baylor that dropped them to 5-3 — before they hit their stride and rolled to the Final Four. They lost just four more games — three against Connecticut, their opponent in the national semifinals on Sunday, and a one-point loss at DePaul. Notre Dame allowed just 55.5 points per game this season, ranked fourth nationally in steals per game and ninth in rebounding margin.

“We matured a lot as a team, and we were able to close out games,” guard Natalie Novosel said.

Now, the Fighting Irish, who began the season ranked No. 12, have a shot at their first national title since 2001.

“I think we surprised a lot of people,” guard Skylar Diggins said. “Coach told me we had an opportunity to do great things this year.”

It just took a while. During the rough start, McGraw didn’t panic because she’d been down that road before.

“We were 2-2 after the Kentucky game, and I told the team in the locker room the ’97 Final Four team was 2-2,” she said. “And we lost to two unranked teams.”

So, instead of tearing her players down, she built them up.

“We’re right there,” she recalled telling them. “We’ve got to fix a couple of things, and we can be really good. I think they were able to stay positive and not really dwell on the losses.”

The losses include Connecticut winning 79-76 on Jan. 8, 78-57 on Feb. 19 and 73-64 on March 8.

Diggins feels good about the chances of a different outcome this time around.

“This team has great excitement and great momentum coming out of the Dayton region, so we’re excited to play them again,” she said.

The offense improved as players adjusted to new roles. Notre Dame ranks fourth nationally in field-goal percentage and 11th with 77.4 points per game. Six players average at least 7.1 points per game, and the leading scorer is not the dynamic Diggins but Novosel. She has almost tripled her scoring since last season and leads the team with 14.9 points per game.

“Everybody on the team is unselfish,” McGraw said. “They look for each other. They work together, they play together. It doesn’t matter who gets the points or who gets the attention, everybody just wants to win.”

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CINCINNATI — Ramon Hernandez hit a two-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday, rallying the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-6 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in an opening-day flashback to their NL Central title season.

The Brewers became the first team in 42 years to open the season with back-to-back homers when Rickie Weeks and Carlos Gomez connected off Edinson Volquez. Ryan Braun also had a solo shot, helping Milwaukee take a 6-3 lead to the ninth.

That’s when the Reds reverted to their winning ways of 2010. Their first six wins last season came in their final at-bat, tying the major league record. Hernandez connected off closer John Axford (0-1).

WATCH:

The Reds trailed 6-3 when Axford – who set a Milwaukee rookie record with 24 saves last season – let it get away. Cincinnati loaded the bases with none out, but Axford fanned Jay Bruce and got Jonny Gomes to hit a sacrifice fly to deep center.

Hernandez hit an opposite-field homer into the Brewers’ bullpen, setting off another hopping home-plate celebration like so many last season. The Reds tied for second-most wins in their final at-bat while taking the NL Central title.

The Brewers have designs on overtaking the NL Central champions after changing managers – Ron Roenicke took over for Ken Macha – and adding Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum to their rotation. One game in, they’re one game behind.

The 41-degree first pitch made for the second-coldest opener in Great American Ball Park’s nine-year history, prompting the 42,398 fans to bundle in coats and blankets. Volquez warmed up wearing a red hooded sweatshirt.

Then, the Brewers got off to the majors’ most sizzling start in decades.

Weeks extended his spring tear with his 22nd career leadoff homer. He led the Brewers with a .442 average and one homer during spring training. Fast starts are no surprise for him – Weeks hit a club-record eight leadoff homers last season.

When Gomez homered into the upper deck two pitches later, the Brewers became the first team in the majors to start a season with a pair of homers since Cincinnati’s Pete Rose – who watched from a seat behind home plate on Thursday – and Bobby Tolan connected off Don Drysdale in 1969. Drysdale didn’t allow another run in that one, winning 3-2.

Drew Stubbs and National League MVP Joey Votto hit solo homers, but the Reds went to their final at-bat before Hernandez ended it with his three-run shot, his fourth hit of the game.

NOTES: Logan Ondrusek got the victory with one inning in relief. … The Reds are 65-69-1 on opening day, the Brewers 23-19-1. … It was the second time the Brewers and Reds opened the season. The other was 2000, when Ken Griffey Jr. returned to his hometown team. The game was rained out as a 3-3 tie. … The Reds played a tribute to former manager Sparky Anderson on the videoboard before the game. Anderson died in November. The Reds are wearing a “Sparky” patch on their right sleeves. His No. 10 was marked on the back of the mound. … Rose spent time thumbing through the records section of a Reds media guide while sitting in his seat. He attends several games a season in his hometown. … The Reds won for the first time in four season openers under manager Dusty Baker.

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That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

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Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

Leave your comments on the news below.

Leave your comments on the news below.